Question for the Taxidermists

[donpablo]

Anyone wanna share some tips on wiring on the bottom jaw on a euro? I have a bear and a couple javelina I'd like to do with open mouths. Also, any tips on how to prevent the teeth from drying out and cracking?

[buck_wild]

I've never heard of wiring the jaws together but I have used a clear 5 min type epoxy to glue the jaws together at the hinge joint. As for the teeth, not sure you can do anything about the normal teeth but for the tusks on such critters that are hollow, fill them with bondo, epoxy etc to help stabilize them from cracking. It won't completely eliminate the issue but will keep the tusks intact over time.

[White Falcon]

This:

I've never heard of wiring the jaws together but I have used a clear 5 min type epoxy to glue the jaws together at the hinge joint. As for the teeth, not sure you can do anything about the normal teeth but for the tusks on such critters that are hollow, fill them with bondo, epoxy etc to help stabilize them from cracking. It won't completely eliminate the issue but will keep the tusks intact over time.

[donpablo]

The bear was done professionally so I would think/hope the Idaho taxi who did it filled the canines. I can do the javelina. I may go ahead and glue. I've heard about wiring the lower jaw but have never seen any details on how. I would think if you did, it would allow you to adjust the position of the jaw down the road.

[Low Fence]

Never heard of wiring jaws. Javi teeth are solid, not sure on bear. Hogs I fill with bondo, like mentioned above

[donpablo]

OK, I did some brainstorming and came up with an idea. If I held the jaw in position and drilled through the skull and jaw where they connected with a 1/16" drill bit, I could use a 1/16 Allen wrench and maybe a little silicone to hold the jaw in place. If I didn't like how it came out, I could change the position and re-drill using the original holes in the skull so that the jaw would have a couple different sets of holes for different possible positions. This is what I have done so far. I used drill bits as I'm waiting on the cheap Allen wrenches I ordered from Amazon:



I picked it up and held it from the skull portion and the jaw stayed. I haven't added silicone yet as I will do this with the Allen wrenches. I will likely paint the Allen wrenches white and cut them to the desired length so they are less noticeable.



Since this was an experiment, I used an old javelina skull that I didn't take care of just in case. What do y'all think?